10-27-2015, 02:21 PM
On Sunday (the Feast of All Saints) the Episcopal Church will install its new Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry. Currently the Bishop of North Carolina, Curry will succeed the Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts-Schori at the conclusion of her nine-year term.
The transfer of the "titular staff" will occur at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter & St. Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, which has been the seat of the PB since 1944. Frequently called "the National Cathedral" I don't like this term because it suggests establishment of religion.
I was lucky enough to meet Curry last fall because--already in the running for Presiding Bishop--he cast his lot with the Samaritans and hosted the first 40th anniversary celebration of Integrity, the church's LGBT organization. He is an exciting, inspiring preacher who has been active in the "Moral Mondays" justice work taking place in North Carolina. I am hopeful that the church will get his voice out there in the public
We elect the PB at every third triennial General Convention. At this past one in July, in addition to electing Curry, the church voted to treat same-gender marriages the same as heterosexual ones. Jefferts-Schori, an oceanographer and licensed gen-av pilot, was the first woman to hold this title anywhere in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Curry becomes the first black person to lead our church, although he joins men like Desmond Tutu who have held the title in our various provinces around the world.
The service will be webcast and should be quite a show.
The transfer of the "titular staff" will occur at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter & St. Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, which has been the seat of the PB since 1944. Frequently called "the National Cathedral" I don't like this term because it suggests establishment of religion.
I was lucky enough to meet Curry last fall because--already in the running for Presiding Bishop--he cast his lot with the Samaritans and hosted the first 40th anniversary celebration of Integrity, the church's LGBT organization. He is an exciting, inspiring preacher who has been active in the "Moral Mondays" justice work taking place in North Carolina. I am hopeful that the church will get his voice out there in the public
We elect the PB at every third triennial General Convention. At this past one in July, in addition to electing Curry, the church voted to treat same-gender marriages the same as heterosexual ones. Jefferts-Schori, an oceanographer and licensed gen-av pilot, was the first woman to hold this title anywhere in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Curry becomes the first black person to lead our church, although he joins men like Desmond Tutu who have held the title in our various provinces around the world.
The service will be webcast and should be quite a show.